Brown Spider Monkey by artists Gillie and Marc

LOCATIONS

EDITION 1 - SINGAPORE - 19 May 2023 - 18 May 2024
Gardens By The Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Dr, Singapore 018953
Visit the sculpture, click for map >

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CLICK HERE TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO WWF > 

NAME
Boris, Bernardo & Baltasar

TITLE
Love The Brown Spider Monkey

GENDER
Males

AGE
11, 9, and 8

FOUND
Northern Colombia and Northwestern Venezuela

CONSERVATION STATUS
Critically Endangered

This monkey is 11-years-old and is an acrobat in his forested home. He has so much fun swinging through the canopy but he has to always be on the lookout. His home and his family are targets. He must sit and watch while the beautiful trees are torn down to make way for human’s agriculture, roads, and homes. He can’t understand why they need so much. He only has a small territory to roam now, yet still, the humans want more.

Found in the forests of Colombia and Venezuela, the brown spider monkey spends most of its time high in the canopies, feasting on its mainly fruit diet and only occasionally coming down to the ground. Down here they drink water and do something very surprising, eat dirt and clay! It's not certain why they do this but it's thought to be adding important minerals to their diet.

Brown spider monkeys are highly social animals. They live in fission-fusion groups, one which is constantly changing, made up of 2-30 monkeys. They sometimes separate into smaller groups during the day but always keep in touch through their calls. When they reunite it is with great excitement with fun chasing, hugging, and sniffing.

Mothers give birth to one baby at a time. It is completely helpless for the first 2 months of its life where it will cling to their mothers’ belly and move to her back as they get older. They drink their mothers nourishing milk for a year, sometimes longer and are not fully mature until they are 4-5 years old.

Listed as critically endangered and on the World's 25 Most Endangered Primates List, this little monkey is in trouble. It is estimated that 98% of its habitat is already gone. Torn down for logging and agriculture, this mass destruction is devastating for so many of the animals that call this rainforest home. They are also threatened by hunting, both for meat and trophies, and are food for jaguars, mountain lions, harpy eagles, and crested eagles. In total, their populations have decreased by 80%.

HOW TO HELP 
Inspired by animals that Gillie and Marc met on their travels, we invite the public to discover and interact with these beautiful creatures up close and personal – this allows audiences to connect, take photographs and share their favourite species with friends and family.

With more exposure comes more awareness and builds on the love we already have for animals around the world. With love comes a greater sense of urgency to create a change and save all endangered animals. 

​The sculpture will be aligned with the hashtag #LoveTheLast to raise unparalleled awareness about the sculpture’s cause across the globe.

To help protect these animals, please donate to the WWF: https://www.wwf.sg/

PARTNER

WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. As one of WWF’s international hubs, WWF-Singapore supports a global network spanning over 100 countries. We work to meet key conservation goals, such as deforestation, haze pollution, food security, sustainable finance, sustainable consumption and illegal wildlife trade.

For more information, visit https://www.wwf.sg

ABOUT GILLIE AND MARC
Gillie and Marc’s highly coveted public artworks can be found worldwide including in New York, London, Singapore, Shanghai, and Sydney. They are Archibald Prize finalists, won the Chianciano Biennale in Italy, took out the Allens People’s Choice Award in 2016 and 2018 and Kids’ Choice Award in the 2016 Sculpture by the Sea and received the Bayside Arts Festival People's Choice Award in 2019 in Sydney.

The husband-and-wife duo are on a mission to make art for a better tomorrow. They are best known for their beloved characters, Rabbitwoman and Dogman, who tell the autobiographical tale of two opposites coming together as best friends and soul mates.

Gillie and Marc are also passionate eco-warriors and have dedicated their lives to protecting nature.

Gillie grew up with the wildlife in Zambia and Marc studied chimpanzees in Tanzania as a young man. Over time, the artists developed a deep appreciation for all living things and a desire to preserve the magnificence of the natural world. 

Gillie and Marc’s mission is to save species from extinction. Through their practices, they are transforming passive audiences into passionate advocates for animal conservation, spreading awareness about endangered species and leading to change.

Their art has raised hundreds of thousands in donations for the many wildlife charities and causes they support through their project Love The Last.

Please follow @gillieandmarcart 

If you are interested in buying art related to the Love the Last March, you will also be directly helping real animals in the wild, with 30% of sales going to WWF to continue their fantastic work for animal conservation.  Click here to browse art > https://gillieandmarc.com/collections/love-the-last-march